| Many sales professionals and sales leaders
are so busy handling day to day challenges that they forget to formalize their sales
career aspirations and goals. Make the time to do this today.
Spending just 10 to 20 minutes on this 5-step sales
coaching process could make all the difference in the world.
You might already have some ideas floating around in your
mind, and now it is time to get them written down. Or maybe you have even completed
something like this before in the past, but you have not looked at your notes or updated
your sales career goals in years.
1. Think about what you’d like people to say about you
at your retirement party.
This general concept comes from Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,
“Begin with the end in mind.” Imagine you are at the end of your sales career,
looking back. What would you like to have accomplished in your career? How would you like
to be remembered?
Start acting now, how you want to be remembered. Be now,
how you want to be remembered, and don’t wait! You want to be a VP of Sales for a
major Fortune 500 company, then start acting like one. What do you think a top VP of Sales
was doing when she was in your shoes?
2. Brainstorm and write down some specific sales career
goals you would like to accomplish before you retire.
This exercise should flow much easier after completing step #1. There are many areas you
could focus on, but here are some general topics to get you started: responsibility held,
freedom created, impact on others, income made, started own business, moved into sales
leadership or management, #1 performer, helped others to be a #1 performer.
3. Pick 3 sales goals.
Take a look at your list and choose up to 3 goals that really stand out to you. Pay
attention to the energy around each goal and find which ones really get you excited.
Don’t get rid of the other goals, but just pick 3 to focus on, for now.
4. Break it down and make these 3 sales career goals very
specific.
What do you have to accomplish in the next month, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and so on, to
reach these goals? Plan it out step by step so you know exactly what needs to get done to
accomplish your goals.
5. Action!
Start with what you need to accomplish this next month and create specific action items or
a to-do list for each week of the month. Ask yourself what can I do to accelerate these
goals, and if I only get one very important thing accomplished each day this week, what
would that be?
Follow this simple 5-step process and you will be taking
positive steps towards your sales career goals and dreams. |
